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French oil major Total may turn its back on its $1bn (£740m) Iranian gas project within six months unless it can clinch a sanctions waiver for the project from the US government.

The French state-backed oil group said that without an exemption from the US it would halt work at the world’s largest gas field and wind down all its activities by November 4.

The US decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal between Iran and an alliance of western powers was taken earlier this month, despite opposition from France, Germany and the UK, and threatens a huge swathe of international business deals.

Total said it could not afford to breach the looming US sanctions against Iran due to its reliance on American...